Local Operations Manager - Drivers in Birmingham

Join our Birmingham team on a full-time, fixed-term basis!

Purpose of the role

Reporting to the Regional Operations Manager, you will contribute to the delivery of the day-to-day UK rail operations. You will lead and manage a designated group of drivers to deliver a high performing workforce in line with Freightliner’s specific standards in safety, performance, and customer service expectations. You will be a highly visible, people-focused manager, driving improved employee engagement and results.

Main duties and responsibilities

Safety

• You have specific responsibilities on a day-to-day basis for the occupational health and safety of employees in your area, including all locations where your drivers or groundstaff visit.
• Ensure a positive safety culture is developed within your area of responsibility, supported by robust safety processes in accordance with company, industry standards, and legislation.
• Ensure that all your drivers are trained in emergency procedures for major incident/accident management.
• Ensure that any operating or occupational accidents and incidents involving employees in your reporting line are properly recorded and investigated to a productive conclusion.
• Ensure that safety arrangements are adhered to and protect the health and safety of employees, other rail users, and the public.
• Compliance with your duty to take care of your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by yours/their own actions at work.

People

• Guide and support your team through leadership, teamwork, motivation, and involvement.
• Develop and maintain a highly performing and customer-focused team of driver staff through effective application of all Freightliner performance management processes and standards.
• Ensure that all staff and drivers in your report line receive adequate health and safety training.
• Ensure employees are appropriately monitored and managed to address unacceptable levels of attendance, performance, or conduct.
• Co-operate with the commercial teams to plan future route learning priorities with special reference to the changeable infrastructure programme.
• Liaise with rosters to ensure efficient use of rostered days at work, minimising dependence on free day working.
• Where required, carry out formal/informal competence development/attendance or disciplinary warnings in accordance with relevant policies, procedures, and agreements.
• Ensure that all staff welfare and chain of care issues are dealt with to conclusion in accordance with appropriate policies and standards.

Performance

• To ensure the effective delivery of resources to deploy drivers/groundstaff to meet the train plan, within allocated budget and within performance and safety standards.
• Ensure that processes are in place to reduce impact minutes, through TOPS/TRUST, mitigate loco failures and reductions – working in conjunction with your colleagues, Control, and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Actively manage, through the drivers and groundstaff, effective and timely train performance working in unison with other members of staff to a common aim of minimising late running/delays.
• Ensure that the manpower plan/budget within your area of responsibility is managed proactively, and that staff numbers and overtime are managed to budgeted/authorised levels.

Specific role-related tasks and activities

• Assign driver mentors to trainee drivers.
• Collate trainee driver hours and provide regular updates/projections on their productivity.
• Liaise with your Regional Operations Manager and group Standards as necessary, to ensure that driver and groundstaff training is being met consistently and effectively.
• Assist with the delivery of other training activities outside of your area of responsibility when required.
• Where required, carry out investigations into operating incidents, including SPADs, accidents, local incidents, staff competence, staff attendance issues recommending and taking actions as necessary and as authorised.
• Create Competence Development Programs for staff and ensure agreed targets are met through defined review periods.
• Hold Safety Review Panels post-incident investigations.
• Undertake routine location inspections as required (level 1, monthly), ensuring compliance with any LWIs, policies, and standards.
• Lead/participate in all staff briefings, safety briefs, communications, and initiatives to continuously improve safety across FL UK Rail Operations.
• Represent the company when attending incidents, SPADs, derailments, signal sighting committees and assume the role of TOLO when necessary.
• First Line ‘On Call’ commitment and when required attend to group incidents as requested.
• Support and develop route knowledge and familiarisation strategies at local level, ensuring driver/shunter productivity.
• Issue staff equipment including PPE as required.
• Conduct sickness/welfare call within 24 hours of reporting.
• Comply with the MFA procedure ensuring all staff are placed monitored and actioned where required.
• Complete Return to Work Interviews post staff absence.
• Create phased return to work plans for staff as required.
• Liaise with HR to ensure all occupational health referrals and action plans are agreed in a timely fashion.
• Manage staff conduct issues through the companies disciplinary and grievance procedures.
• Assist in the recruitment of new staff through interviews and recommendation.
• Conduct out of hours monitoring where necessary, to include weekend work.
• To undertake additional/alternative work as requested by management.
• Ensure all safety critical staff comply with their requirement of the company drug and alcohol policies.
• Prepared to get involved in any other activities/projects within your competence/remit from time to time that add productive value to Rail Operations UK activities.

Key Job requirements

• Thorough understanding of the principles of safe and efficient railway operation including but not limited to the application of operating instruction, policies, procedures, rule book, railways standards.
• Experience of managing people within an operational environment.
• Experience of working with unions at local level.
• Understanding the application of safety management systems and compliance.
• Track record of delivering customer service in a transportation industry.

Qualifications and Training

• Ability to work under pressure while maintaining high standards of safety and compliance.
• Competent to undertake risk assessments.
• Competent to undertake investigations using Root Cause Analysis, and to download and interpret Qtron data recorder information.
• Good IT knowledge e.g. Microsoft packages, and ability to use and interpret data sourced from job-related software.
• Ability to write concise, factual-based reports to laid down standards, and with the ability to make clear recommendations based on factual evidence.
• Diligent and self-motivated with strong interpersonal skills and effective people management skills.
• Good standard of education.
• Personal Track Safety to Network Rail standard.
• Effective incident management training.
• A flexible approach to work is required, especially mobility in relation to training, as you may be expected to work away at times which will involve some overnight accommodation in hotels.
• Hold a full UK driving licence.
• Ability to cope with occasional out of hours working requirements.
• Commitment to work safely, and that it is the first consideration in everything that we do.
• Flexibility in respect of hours worked, location, application and output, dependant on the operational requirements of the business.
• Maintenance of trust, tact and confidentiality.
• Awareness of the nature of our customers' business requirements and an outward looking focus towards helping them achieve their objectives.
• Ability to work to standardised instructions and processes and ensuring that others do the same.
• Motivated to follow rules and procedures; influencing, persuading and motivating others.
• Demonstrates interpersonal skill, empathy and understanding; emotional control and management; independence and fairness.

Statutory Duties

• Health & Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974
• Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992
• Data Protection Act 2002
• ROGS, 2011

Safety Documentation and Equipment (which may be used)

• Rule Books and appendices
• Relevant Health and Safety Policies and procedures
• Alcohol and Drugs policy